A private collection of material focusing on the never ending joys of the Trimet industrial complex
(https://twitter.com/AlYourPalster)
Dispatch/Control clips represent approximately 5% of all calls chosen at random

Our beloved GM (actually the most hated) Neil Mcfarlane is of such a viscous character that if he doesn't get his way, and get it NOW, he uses threats and steals our money in retaliation.

We knew he was planning to send out letters saying his employees 'owed him money' He never sent them out. My theory is that if he did that he would finally create solidarity among employees! He in one swoop he would actually awaken the slumbering Trimet employees who keep on working as if nothing is happening. Most of them don't have the slightest idea as to what is going on behind their work lives.

And now he takes out his anger on his employees and does severe damage to his retirees by announcing there will be increases in medical costs and no cost of living increases for active employees because he has no agreement with the union.HE ALWAYS TAKES THE LOW ROAD. Imagine if he took the high road and instead of forcing these increases down our throats he made an announcement like "we don't have an agreement with your union right now but in the spirit of cooperation I will not be forcing any of the insurance increases down our employees throats, even though I have the right to do that". But that is not his style. His style is take the low road, punish all the poor people that have nothing to do with the negotiations between union executives and Trimet executives. Mcfarlane has stolen 20% of my retirement, just because he can. There is nothing lower in the human spirit than that. If I wasn't such a lazy retiree I would have gotten up in the morning and told him what I thought of him at the board meeting. We'll see what happens over the next month. There is always another board meeting

Trimet pay and benefits vs other transit districts pay and benefits, It's a Trimet publication so we really CANNOT trust their figures without outside verification.
They are well known to manipulate facts and figures to their advantage. What they want according to this chart is for Trimet union personnel to take a 39% decrease in wages and benefits. Obviously that will not happen without resistance. At this time I am thinking "lets go back to arbitration again". In addition the only comparisons should be west coast cities, not places like Dallas and Salt Lake. They through those in there to lower the average!

But Trimet is determined to control access and reporting to maintain the secrecy of their organization.
This is a significant battle between the union vs Trimet because it represents tyrannical government against its citizens. ATU 757 is taking the lead in ending government secrecy. They are to be congratulated in this effort. It has country wide effects. Trimet will battle tooth and nail to prevent 'transparency' and continue to lie that they support it.ATU has outed Trimet hypocrisy!

These TYRANTS are such liars it's unbelievable that they can actually stay in power.Listen to same old BS, that they have said over and over and over:TriMet no longer can afford the escalating costs of Cadillac health care
benefits for union employees and retirees. We are facing nearly $1
billion in unfunded OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) related to
retiree health benefits that are the most generous in the nation.

The executives are scum and at this point I think the union should just wait for binding arbitration again. Screw you the Trimet bullies trying to turn the public against the transit workers with your propaganda nonsense.http://www.trimet.org/newcontract/

I was originally against this assessment but after recent move by BRUCE HANSEN I am totally in favor of funding the union to fight the tyranny of these wretched Trimet executives!

ATU
TriMet Active and Retired Members voted separately on whether they
wanted to pay a special assessment dedicated to contract negotiations
with TriMet management. Today, the ATU TriMet Executive Board and Extra
Board liaison officers counted those ballots. The final tally shows that
both groups voted overwhelmingly in favor of the assessment which will
take effect beginning January 1, 2013.

Randy Stedman, ,executive director of lanor relations for TriMet, said
he hoped the agency and the union could formally request a declaratory
judgement from the court next week. TriMet and the union must first
agree on a stipulate set of facts to be submitted to the court before
that can happen, Stedman says.

Here is what I suggest-ASK FOR A JURY TRIAL jury trials are open to the PUBLIC!

JUST LIKE MCFARLANE DID TO ME WHEN I SUED HIM.

HEY MCFARLANE-HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE F-KED WITH JUST LIKE YOU DO TO EVERYBODY ELSE?

Trimet's addiction to paranoia and secrecy is heading to the Labor relations board for review. One thing we the pubic know for sure is that the SUPER SECRET PHONY "we believe in transparency" mantrais nothing but a hoax. What would be the explanation for Trimet trying so hard to keep the public out of the union negotiations. No citizens, Trimet is our enemy, trying to suck the life out of its employees and riders . The system is in shambles, the riders are tired of being subjected to the fare gestapo and the employees are tired of being mistreated and abused. Govenor Kitahaber where are you. You were elected by the unions, yet you are a Judas to their causeUnion and TriMet Agree to Seek Legal RulingThe transit workers’ union announced this morning that TriMet management has accepted the union’s proposal to submit their legal dispute about whether negotiations are to be public to a neutral third party.“We look forward to quickly resolving this issue and moving forward with negotiations,” says Bruce Hansen, union president. “Once that occurs, negotiations can begin.”

It has come to my attention that TRIMET BIG SHOTS are very unhappy about Mary's picture being used for Trimet Scanner. Let me first say this. Mary Fetsch is a very nice woman I like her very much on a personal level. But she is the face of Trimet and so she appears as a NO MARY picture on TrimetScanner. However the people involved in Trimetscanner have a proposal to which everybody agrees to remove her picture. Talk with Jason Mchuff about the proposal. We will not remove it 'just to be nice' since Trimet management is not nice and worthy of any favors. It will cost you.

Even though the Trimet board of sock puppets ignored them completely they bravely continue the fight. I never joined them because I thought my presence might harm there battle plans. Knowing that I am a very controversial figure and not respected by the 'powers that be' I thought it best if I stay out of their business. But I know without them there would be NOBODY fighting for the riders and hope people can help them as much as possible.

This is a sample of the public that has been SCREWED by Macfarlane and his careerist minions. These pack of wild dogs called Trimet careerists have RUINED Trimet, yet there they sit, up on their thrones, "LET THEM EAT CAKE" say the Trimet careerist who are getting rich while screwing the public.

When this guy Bruce Warner walked in out of the blue and took over the chairmanship of the puppets replacing Rick Van Beverin (a man with a heart)I knew immediately this was bad, VERY BAD.

And then watching him at work really became scary, this man is polished. A careerist of the first degree, probably has a net work of several million.

Well today he committed pure evil. He blamed all the service cuts on the union, A BALD FACED LIE but did what Mcdickhead ordered.

Its not enough they won the arbitration, (we shall see if that stands up) but they are still blaming the union.

Good luck to you Warner, you shameless careerist piece of shit. Lying with a straight faced is pure evil. And you better pray that there is no god, because if there is HELL AWAITS YOU! (and macfarlane)

I was going to go to the puppets meeting but I didn't feel like getting up to attend what is basically a waste of time for the public. The puppets listen patiently but they take none of it seriously (see OPAL).

So rather waste me time there I slept in and watched a movie, a much more productive use of my time.

But I did get a report the the union is attending the first 'negotiation'. That's very disappointing indeed.

I wouldn't talk to the company under the terms they are dictating. Alas it appears our 'union' is caving again.

They have an 'unsustainable budget' which of course is all blamed on the union contract per the world wide movement against unionism. The reality is that Trimet expanded itself into unsustainablility and is just using the union as a scape goat (as is the template of the power elite to destroy workers pensions and pay)

In the end its the employees who will undue the union, working RDO's, bus trades, and fills, no solidarity, everybody that works at Trimet is making a fortune (a crime unto itself while chopping service into little pieces)

For Immediate Release November 27, 2012
Contact Bruce Hansen
TriMet Continues to Resist Open Negotiations
The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents the area’s transit workers, is continuing to stand firm on its statutory right to conduct negotiations that are open to the press and the public. TriMet’s executive director of labor relations, Randy Stedman, is continuing to refuse full access.(a known union buster who brags about it on his website)
A last minute wrinkle is that TriMet now wants a list of all union-side participants and wants these people screened by TriMet’s security guard.(why would you even show up under those terms) Additionally, Stedman changed his position somewhat with regard to the press. He states that he will allow a few members of the press(the corporate press which is bought and paid for by Trimet) to attend but only those TriMet considers “bona fide.”(there is only one thing to say about that, F'K YOU STEADMAN)
“Randy Stedman’s response is disappointing. To keep the public and our members out, he’s relying on a 1976 court case about a totally different situation.(f'k his court case, let him take you to court) And that case was decided before the 2005 changes to the statute,” said union president Bruce Hansen. The case referenced by Stedman involves a different statute, cites words that do not appear in 192.660(3) and is about the press seeking access to an executive session that both the employer and the union did not want the press to attend.
The transit workers’ union, however, wants public negotiations. “We continue to believe that open access to the process is in the best interest of our community and the workers who provide the community with transit services. We are talking about public monies and a public service so members of the public deserve a seat in the room as do the people who serve them,” Hansen stated.
See attached correspondence.
###

MY ADVICE TO BRUCE HANSEN-DO NOT ATTEND THESE MEETINGS-EDUCATE THE BUS DRIVERS AS TO WHAT EXACTLY THESE MONSTERS WHO CALL THEMSELVES EXECUTIVES ARE DOING. GET THESE BUS DRIVERS/RAIL OPERATORS TO STOP DOING DOING BUS TRADES-FILLS-AND WORKING RDO'S. ITS THE BUS/RAIL OPERATORS THAT ARE ALLOWING THE COMPANY TO SHIT ON US

I heard that on a dispatch call and started investigating.
ORS § 811.507¹ makes the following rule:

(k) Is using a function of the mobile communication device that allows for only one-way voice communication while the person is:
(A) Operating a motor vehicle in the scope of the persons employment;
(B) Providing transit services; or
(C) Participating in public safety or emergency service activities.That does say ONE WAY-NOT TWO WAY communication.It appears the bus driver may be correct.

If a rider hands a bad transfer to a bus driver and they 'steal' it and throw it away the bus driver has basically committed a theft. Thefts are reportable to the police. There are rouge bus drivers out there that apparently think they can do anything they want. Trimet management has failed to recruit or train these people properly.

Managed a two-year, highly visible
effort to reverse an IT union representation vote that went 55% for the
union initially. After appealing and securing a new election from the
Public Employee Relations Commission, prevailed in a 93% vote against
union representation.

Served as executive contract negotiator in multiple labor contract negotiations.

There continue to be more collisions now than the same period last year? So what about all this safety nonsense? The facts are clear, things operated better BEFORE the safety campaign started. Trimet's own chart tells the story

Trimet executives, professional liars predicted a $12 million dollar shortage.Well guess what? They had it backwards. (or they just plain lied which is what I believe to be the truth) Trimet has exactly15.9million MORE THAN IT PREDICTED!Where is the media? NO WHERE? And now the tyrant Mcfarlane hits his retirees with more additional expenses. Hard to believe that he can actually get away with this behavior.

Figure it out for yourself using TRIMET'S OWN CHARTS and figures:Actual revenue $466.70 million vs budget $450.8 million

What's interesting about all this is the fact that Trimet set up its system with completely open stations and never did a thing about fare inspections since the light rail opened. The reason for that is TRIMET wanted to brag about its system being 'the highest ridership per capita' in the United States, which they achieved.They also had the 'fare evasion square' which operated for years. Now the Federal funds have dried up the 'rulers' of Trimet have decided its time to make the sheeple pay up using GESTAPO like tactics.

Trimet is determined to maintain secrecy! This has been Trimet's M.O. for decades, complete and total secrecy, no accountability to the public and here we have Mcdickheads hack Steadman refusing to allow the pubic to be part of the union negotiations. This is Trimet at its best, a self serving, secretive, unaccountable agency. And now they proved it to the world.

In Salt Lake City it was big news that a former general Manager walked away with an obscene pension. But in PORTLAND awash in fake 'greenness' and phony 'sustainability' baloney, not one article in our corporate controlled press about the pornographic pensions of FRED HANSEN and BRIAN PLAYFAIR. As a matter of fact nobody even asked about it till I did!

This was the call the got me started on the down hill road with the new Trimet management, illustrating for the public just how AWFUL THIS JOB CAN BE! The public never hears this! The media doesn't cover it. They have no interest in covering the real story of Trimet bus drivers. You take a job as a bus driver, understand EXACTY what you are getting yourself into because they won't tell you this in training.

"TriMet management has deemed not to include enough time in their
schedules" to continue to the route to Jubitz, where there is a bathroom
bus drivers can use 24 hours a day, reads the union's letter, signed by
President Bruce Hansen. "For the local businesses that have the outside
cafes, we totally understand the annoyance of diesel fumes your
customers are subjected to."
Though it bungled the roll-out of the #8 reroute, TriMet has made
some changes in response to neighbor complaints. The agency posted signs
saying that all idling buses must be turned off and TriMet spokesperson
Mary Fetsch says that as a temporary fix, 40 percent of the buses will
use a different layover location in the spring. Blogtown, PDX

Monday, November 19, 2012

We have our very own FRED HANSEN raking in $188,400.00 a year while they steal our health insurance benefits and cuts service to the public! The guy in Salt Lake was there 35 years. Our criminal made a fortune for just 10 years.Why is that we're paying a man in Salt Lake
City, Utah, that has one of the smaller transit agencies, that kind of
money?" she said. "This money will go on forever, and no one should be
able to get rich and pad their pocket while we have people and bus lines
being cut."

Geddes said UTA, which is considered a quasi-government agency, should become a department of the state.

"When you're using government funds, you should have government oversight. That should be a no-brainer," she said.

I don’t think it’s appropriate to have nightly fare missions checking passengers for valid fare when the TVM issues are so widespread. If a person approaches a TVM with $2.50 in hand but they’re not able to purchase a ticket because today that machine only feels like accepting nickels, hey, that passenger did their part. They shouldn’t be required to go to station after station (yes, sometimes machines atconsecutive stations fail) waiting 17 minutes each time for a train because they are unable to find a TVM that works

I had a silver and black Trek hybrid bike stolen off the max today
sometime between 8am and 8:30am on the blue line. I boarded the train
on 7th and Holladay and got off at 181st and E Burnside when I noticed
that it was gone. I've already reported the bike to the police and
Trimet. The bike had a flat rear tire and had Michelob Ultra decals on
them. I would be much appreciative of any information leading to the
recovery of the bike. Thank you and God bless. I can be reached at
503-877-5586.

Location: Lloyd Center to Rockwood

it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Saturday, November 17, 2012

I just got a note that ATU 757 is asking retirees for an additional $5 a month to fight Mcfarlane.
All I can say is this, if you have been doing your job properly you would not need to ask that of us. Obviously you are admitting defeat by even asking us for more money. It's too late! Throwing good money after bad is not going to help.You have put us in this situation now do something about it.

The latest installment of public transportation workers gone wild comes courtesy of the MTA system in Baltimore,
where a stocky, middle-aged female driver physically fought and gave
the business to a young girl on board, allegedly for refusing to turn
her music down. “It’s about respect,” the uniformed victor explained to
another passenger, who ostensibly asked her why she whooped on that
child like she stole something.

I went through my open enrollment packet yesterday – and I wanted to share some observations.

No
surprise to you, escalating health care costs are among the more
difficult challenges we face.This
continues to be a top-line issue nationally, in Oregon, and certainly at
TriMet. We continue to enjoy among the highest quality benefits
available anywhere, but we are struggling to afford them.(you're sure not struggling to afford them)

I guess nobody but me see's the number of employees that Trimet is hiring. You better believe you will have trouble affording anything if you keep expanding like there is no tomorrow. The man is full of shit. OPAL proved that the budget was not as bad as they predicted. The media is fully controlled by Trimet corporatists so it got no coverage. Mcfarlane reminds me of Bush. Lets cut taxes and start a war and then complain that we have budget problems.

It's been 2 weeks now since the union has been informed that once again the ruthless leader of Trimet (Mcdickhead, sorry to be so disrespectful Neil but you obviously have no respect for us) will once again force us to pay for our health insurance. This is after he had won the arbitration and degraded our health care coverage. So here we are again. What does the union have to say?

Brought to you from the efforts of Jason Mchuff who gets ZERO for covering these Trimet meetings. He even asked for a pass from Trimet management for doing their job for them but they ignored him, which is what they do

Not at Trimet however, where a dysfunctional union combined with an arrogant management along with its bloated bureaucracy makes everybody miserable. (everybody that uses the service and works providing the service that is)

A bus bridge consists of a fleet of busses transporting passengers
between two out-of-service segments on the line. Nobody likes it--it is
inconvenient for rail passengers, who have their trip times lengthened
considerably (but certainly preferable to being stuck). It is
inconvenient for bus passengers, who often see runs cancelled due to the
need to service the bus bridge, and it is expensive for TriMet, who may
have to pay operators overtime due to the unplanned additional service
need, as well as pay for lots of unplanned deadheading.Read the rest of this excellent essay HERE!

Through December 31, 2012, you can upgrade your leftover 1-Zone and 2-Zone tickets to All-Zone for 40 cents, either on the bus or at the TriMet Ticket Office at Pioneer Courthouse Square.HERE!
Now listen to this: (and yesterday some dumbass threw a rider off for drinking KOMBUCHA)